Opportunities for "child stars" of Nghe An

(Baonghean) - After the U.19 finals held in Indonesia, regional football is preparing to be exciting again with the U.13 Asean Championship, Yamaha Cup 2013. In this tournament, U.13 SLNA takes on the responsibility of being one of two representatives of Vietnam participating in the tournament. For many students of Coach Tran Quang Dung, this is a great opportunity for them to show their talent, creating favorable momentum for their dream of becoming stars in the future.

U.13 SLNA won the National U.13 Finals in 2013.

Young talents compete

Since 2008, the ASEAN U.13 Football Championship organized by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., Japan, has truly created a useful playground for young football talents in the region. In the previous 5 times the tournament was organized, most countries with strong football backgrounds responded and sent their teams to participate. In the first tournament held in Da Nang, U.13 Vietnam excellently defeated U.13 Malaysia with a score of 4-0 in the final match to win the championship. In the following times, although still sending teams to participate, U.13 Vietnam did not achieve success.

In 2013, the U.13 ASEAN was held for the second time in Vietnam and the match venue was Hanoi. Following the success of the previous 5 seasons, the organizers hope that My Dinh Stadium as well as the enthusiasm of Vietnamese fans will create the necessary motivation for young talents in the region to develop their full potential. This year's tournament will take place from October 4 to 10, with the participation of 6 teams including: Host U.13 Viettel (Vietnam 1), U.13 SLNA (Vietnam 2), Thailand, Malaysia and 2 teams from Indonesia.

Because it is a tournament for young players, it is difficult to assess the strength of the teams. However, with the participation of teams from many countries with leading football in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the tournament promises to have fierce matches, with a high level of competition. On the host country's side, with the determination to defend the throne, VFF has directed and encouraged the coaching staff and players of U.13 Viettel and U.13 SLNA to prepare carefully, compete with a noble sportsmanship spirit, and be determined to win.

Opportunity for U.13 SLNA

With the excellent victory over 15 domestic opponents to win the National U.13 Finals held in Khanh Hoa last July, U.13 SLNA won the right to participate in the 2013 Asean U.13 Football Tournament. However, according to Coach Tran Quang Dung, U.13 SLNA (Vietnam 2) participating in this tournament faced many disadvantages when most of our players were small and weak physically. In order not to be self-conscious about their physical shape and other limitations, right after returning from Khanh Hoa, Coach Tran Quang Dung and his team diligently trained to prepare for Asean U.13. In addition to physical training exercises, U.13 SLNA also had the opportunity to continuously compete with their seniors in U.15 and U.17 at Song Lam "furnace". In addition, identifying psychology as a significant factor in determining success for young teams, General Director Nguyen Hong Thanh and Executive Director Ho Van Chiem also had conversations and exchanged experiences to encourage the players' spirit.

Before leaving for Hanoi, Coach Tran Quang Dung said that the players were in good spirits, everyone was excited because it was their first time participating in a major regional tournament. The club's leaders did not set any targets, for fear that the players would be under psychological pressure, leading to ineffective performance.

We will try our best to bring glory, but winning or losing in youth tournaments is very difficult to predict. Therefore, the important thing that SLNA leaders want to aim for is that through this tournament, their players have the opportunity to exchange and learn with players of the same age in many countries in the region, thereby becoming more mature in the future.

Vinh Liem